


Surprise!

by Alayea



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora Works Through Some Things, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Post-Canon, adora and catra are NOT subtle, catra has some experience being selfish, we stan scorpia in this household
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:00:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24286270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alayea/pseuds/Alayea
Summary: “Has Adora been acting… weird since we got back?”Bow put a hand to his chin as he thought about it. “If she has, I haven’t noticed. Unless you’re talking about the super not-subtle looks she keeps giving Catra. Because it’s hard to NOT notice those,” He feigned annoyance, but if he was being honest, it was totally cute.Glimmer rolled her eyes. “No, not that. I mean, she’s been… I don’t know… antsy, lately?” She sighed. “I don’t know, I just feel like something’s off. I just wish I knew what was wrong and how to help.” She hugged her arms. She felt a sense of powerlessness, even though they had just defeated an intergalactic supervillain like, a week ago.Bow frowned and hugged her around the shoulders. “Hey, it’s probably fine. We’re all still pretty on edge. But, we’ll think of a way to cheer her up.” He smiled softly at her as she leaned into his touch. She was grateful for the fact that he always knew the right things to say to make her feel better. She looked up at him, and suddenly, an idea sparked in her mind.“Oh, oh!! I have the BEST idea, Bow!”ORAdora is worth more than what she can give to other people. She just needs some help realizing that.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 360





	Surprise!

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is my first ever fic so hi nice to meet you
> 
> this was half inspired by aimee's fic prompt and a panel from way back before season 4 where lauren talks about scorpia planning a party. lmk if u spot the reference ;)

“Has Adora been acting… weird since we got back?” 

Glimmer asked Bow as soon as they were out of earshot. They had just finished a Runeflix binge with the Extended Best Friends Squad, which was getting bigger and harder to keep track of every day. In a good way. In a very good way. But it was getting late, and everyone had decided that thirty episodes of Mermystery: The Books: The Musical: The Series was enough for one day. 

Bow put a hand to his chin as he thought about it. “If she has, I haven’t noticed. Unless you’re talking about the super not-subtle looks she keeps giving Catra. Because it’s hard to NOT notice those,” He feigned annoyance, but if he was being honest, it was totally cute. 

Glimmer rolled her eyes. “No, not that. I mean, she’s been… I don’t know… antsy, lately?” She sighed. “I don’t know, I just feel like something’s off. I just wish I knew what was wrong and how to help.” She hugged her arms. She felt a sense of powerlessness, even though they had just defeated an intergalactic supervillain like, a week ago. 

Bow frowned and hugged her around the shoulders. “Hey, it’s probably fine. We’re all still pretty on edge. But, we’ll think of a way to cheer her up.” He smiled softly at her as she leaned into his touch. She was grateful for the fact that he always knew the right things to say to make her feel better. She looked up at him, and suddenly, an idea sparked in her mind. 

“Oh, oh!! I have the BEST idea, Bow!” She grabbed his hands and jumped up, eyes sparkling and smile wide. 

He grinned back at her. “What is i-”

“Hey, guys!! Whatcha talkin’ about?” 

They yelped, and Glimmer latched onto Bow’s arm as they jumped back at the sudden interruption. 

“Oh! Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to, uh…” 

Glimmer exhaled as she recognized the person in front of them. “Scorpia. What are you doing here? I thought everyone was going to bed.” She calmed her breath, and relaxed her hold on Bow’s arm. 

Scorpia reached a giant claw behind her head and scratched her neck bashfully. “Oh, right, right, yeah, of course. I was actually going to do that, right now, but, uh, well, I…” She pressed her mouth shut like she was ashamed of something. Bow raised an eyebrow at her, and she looked down at the floor. “I’m lost,” she said, as if she had been holding her breath. “I don’t know where anything is here. I know I’ve been here for months and I should know my way around by now, but, Gosh, I just get so turned around.” 

Bow sighed and smiled at her as Glimmer stifled a chuckle. “It’s okay, Scorpia. You’ll get used to it at some point.” Glimmer smiled at her as she spoke. Scorpia’s awkwardness could be so charming. 

“Come on, we’ll take you to your room.” Bow started to turn down the hallway that led to Scorpia’s temporary quarters. 

“Actually,” Glimmer said, a plan formulating in her head. “We could use your help.” 

  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Next Day

  
Adora walked the castle halls looking for Catra. She hadn’t seen her since this morning, before she left their room to go do her morning routine with Perfuma and Scorpia. Apparently, it involved standing in weird poses for extended periods of time and chanting positive affirmations about her day and herself, but Catra never let Adora watch them. She didn’t really understand it, but if it was helpful for Catra, then she was grateful for it. And even though it stole her away from Adora every morning, she was glad Catra was getting along so well with everyone.

It was now midday, though, and Catra should have been done hours ago. Even if she was busy doing something today, she could have told her. Adora had already finished working out, cleaning the room, doing the dishes, and had now completed 3 laps around the castle. It was eerily quiet today. She had barely seen anyone today except the guards. There’s no way everyone had left without saying anything to her. The whole situation made her tense as she crept around the castle. 

She heard whispering from around the corner. She made sure her steps were silent as she neared it. 

“Alright, alright, just let me do it, okay?” Catra’s terse whisper was impossible not to recognize. Adora rounded the corner and saw Catra facing away from her, looking through the barely-cracked-open door to the war room, and through the crack she recognized Scorpia towering over her on the other side. Scorpia’s eyes locked with Adora’s, and she gasped and slammed the door. Catra’s shoulders tensed as the door shut in her face, and Adora could imagine the quizzical look on her face. Adora couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face as she looked at her. 

“Catra-”

Catra screeched and sprung around, her tail bristled and standing straight up. “Adora!” She said, a bit louder than she would have liked. She winced. “I mean, hey, Adora.” She assumed her normal cool and collected look and smoothed out her tail. “What, are you stalking me now?” She teased, a playful smirk on her lips. 

Yes. “Psh, you wish,” Adora shot back as she pushed Catra lightly. “What’s going on in there? You guys wouldn’t be planning a mission without me, would you?” Adora said, half-joking as she started for the door. Catra’s eyes widened for a second, and she put an arm out to block Adora from entering. 

“You can’t go in there.”

“Why not? You guys aren’t seriously planning a mission without me right?” Adora actually looked a little hurt at the idea. It would have been sad if it wasn’t so cute. 

Catra rolled her eyes. “Scorpia’s just… We were talking about the newest Mermystery episode. Don’t want to spoil it for you.” Catra hated how easy it was for her to lie to Adora. But she could allow it, just this once. It was for a good cause. 

“Aw, you watched it without me?” The look on Adora’s face almost made Catra come clean right then, until she added, “Wait, I thought you hated it.” 

“Don’t worry, we can watch it together whenever you want.” Catra tried to keep the tenderness out of her voice when she spoke. She also tried not to notice the way Adora’s eyes sparkled as she beamed at her. Tried. And failed.

“Promise?” Adora teased with a knowing tone in her voice.

Catra felt a shiver run through her and a blush rise in her cheeks. She looked away to avoid melting into a puddle. “Y-yeah, I promise, whatever.” She didn’t have to look up to know that Adora was looking at her with the cheesiest grin on her face. She looked anyway and felt a tightness in her chest that made her want to-

”Gah!!” She growled and stomped forward, grabbing Adora’s arm along the way and dragging her with her. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving.” She tried to stay stoic, but her blush only grew as Adora snaked their hands together. A smile snuck onto her lips. “You’re such an idiot.” 

  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After successfully raiding the kitchen, the pair went out to the courtyard to enjoy their swiped snacks. They actually had permission to take as much food as they want whenever they want, but stealing it and sneaking away reminded them of old times. 

Catra stuffed another curiously shaped sugary morsel into her mouth, and Adora had to stop herself from laughing at the loud purring that could be heard as Catra slumped into the grass. 

“Ugh, how did the Horde convince us those ration bars were edible! Whatever these things are, they are infinitely better.” Catra threw another one into the air and caught it in her mouth. 

Adora raised an eyebrow. “Wow,” she said, dragging it out dramatically. “Even better than the gray kind? I thought those were your favorite.” She dodged swiftly as Catra threw one at her. 

“Shut up.”

Adora fell into a fit of giggles. She had really missed this. She’d missed the playful teasing. She’d missed play fighting. She had missed Catra. She was so happy that they were together again. She was happy that these moments came so easy to them. She was happy that they still effortlessly fit so well together. She was happy. 

Still…

Catra snapped out of her awestruck gaze when Adora’s gleeful smile fell and she looked out into space. Her grip tightened on her own plate of food, and her brow furrowed, like she was trying to focus on something. Catra sat up and observed her for a moment, trying to read her. 

“Hey,” Catra said softly as she placed her hand on top of Adora’s. Adora looked back to her, like she had just remembered where she was. “Are you okay?” Catra’s voice was gentle, but her face betrayed her worry. 

Adora breathed deeply and sighed, closing her eyes. “Yeah, I am.” She tried her best to give Catra a smile that said ‘I’m fine,’ but she was sure she wasn’t convinced. “Hey, let’s go check if Entrapta’s made any progress in cracking Prime’s tech.” Adora didn’t wait for a response, simply pulling Catra to her feet.

“Oh, I don’t-” 

“Come on, please? It’ll just take a sec.” Adora looked at Catra with pout on her lips and her eyes wide. 

Catra frowned and crossed her arms as she tried to resist her incredibly adorable… Adora. She tilted her head up, trying and failing to ignore how cute she was being right now. She dragged a hand down her face and groaned, attempting to hide her smile behind her hand. “Fine. Let’s go.” 

It was Adora’s turn to drag Catra with her, and Catra didn’t stop herself from locking their fingers tight together. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
The walk to Entrapta’s lab was quiet and contented. And short. Entrapta had barely stepped foot back in Brightmoon before she had taken over one of the rooms to work as her lab. 

Well, her and Hordak’s lab. And Wrong Hordak. 

The three of them had their own mission of hacking into Prime’s network in order to figure out how to use their advanced technology and find exactly where in the cosmos they should go in order to restore magic to the universe. As much as Entrapta would love it, rocketing into space with absolutely no direction of where to go is a bad idea. 

Normally, Entrapta’s lab was bustling with the sounds of machines whirring, erratic typing, and Entrapta muttering to herself and to the Hordaks about her latest scientific discovery or theory. When Adora and Catra entered however, it was quiet and empty. 

“Entrapta?” Adora called out, and it echoed against the tall walls of the chamber. There was no reply. “That’s… weird. I don’t think I’ve seen her outside her lab since we got back.” Adora tried to keep her voice light, but her gut knew something was up. 

“Uh, yeah, well, she’s probably climbing a wall somewhere to get a better signal, or something.” Despite Catra’s grumpy tone, Adora could tell there was fondness underneath her words. She hummed contentedly. 

“Still.” She frowned and placed her hands on her hips. “I really wanted to talk about the progress she’s making with the tech.” 

Catra raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. “Really? You understand all that science talk?”

Adora sputtered. “Uh, well, no, but…” Catra unimpressed brow raised ever higher, but she devolved into a chuckle that made Adora smile. 

“I didn’t think so.” Adora’s eye twitched. “What’s the rush, anyway? The universe will still be there when Entrapta’s finished. Until then, we’ve finally got time to relax for once.” 

Adora sighed. “I know, I know.” Adora paused as she tried to figure out the right words to say. “I just…” 

“Adora?”

Entrapta’s sharp voice made them both turn towards the entrance. She was standing in the doorway with her hands and her hair carrying large boxes. 

“Entrapta,” Adora said, relieved. 

A strand of purple hair tapped Entrapta’s chin. “You’re a little early. And also in the wrong room.” The sound of Catra smacking her forehead and groaning caught her attention. “Oh, hi, Catra.” She smiled innocently at them. 

From behind, Bow pushed Entrapta out of the way with a panicked look on his face and a stiff, nervous laugh. 

“Adora! And Catra! What are you two doing here?” Even though he was technically addressing both of them, Catra felt his eyes boring into her and frowned. 

“Don’t look at me! Adora wanted to check on Entrapta’s dumb tech stuff,” she huffed, looking away from Bow and scowling. 

“Why didn’t you-” Bow was cut off by a long, drawn out squeal coming from Entrapta.

“You want to talk to me about my scientific developments?” She looked at Adora like she had just told her that she’d won the lottery. 

“Uh, yeah! I wanted to-” Again, Entrapta interrupted with an excited shriek. She dropped all the boxes she was carrying on the floor and grabbed Adora’s arm. 

“Bow! You won’t mind if I slip away for just a second, will you?” 

“I-” Bow sighed and drug a hand down his face. “Go ahead,” he said, reluctantly. 

“Great!”

And with that, Adora was whisked away by Entrapta. Bow turned to Catra. 

“You’re supposed to be distracting her!” 

“I am distracting her! It’s not my fault you guys chose the worst place to organize!” Catra felt her voice rising in octave and pitch, and relaxed her shoulders and calmed her features with a breath. “I’m sorry, but you try convincing Adora of something when she’s made up her mind,” she added. 

Bow sighed and smiled at her. “It’s okay. You’re right, we’re pretty bad at sneaking around.” 

Catra smiled back at him, secretly thankful that he was so understanding. 

“So, how soon are you guys gonna be ready?” she continued in a hushed voice. 

Bow’s expression adopted a more serious look. “About an hour, maybe less.”

Catra glanced behind her at Adora, who was completely baffled by Entrapta’s science jargon but still nodded along, pretending to understand. Catra snorted. 

“I can work with that.” 

  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
By the time Entrapta had finished explaining her recent technological advancements, Catra had a few minutes left. She was leaning against the wall, eyes on Adora. Entrapta was picking up her boxes and starting for the door as she wrapped up her report with Adora trailing behind her. 

“Right, of course, and what exactly does all that mean, again?” Adora said, her brain tired from trying to keep up with Entrapta. 

Entrapta smiled at her, and spoke comically slow. “We should be able to crack Prime’s programming within a few weeks.” She finished her explanation off with a quick pat to Adora’s head, then she was out the door. 

As Entrapta passed her, she winked at Catra, making her think she knew exactly what she was doing. The thought made her smile. 

“So,” She reached her arms up and closed her eyes, stretching her tense limbs. “Did you find out everything you wanted?” She leaned on one leg and placed her hands on her hips as she looked at Adora. 

But Adora wasn’t looking at her. She was staring off into space again, with that concentrated look on her face. 

Catra’s casual demeanor quickly fell away.

“Adora? Is everything okay?” Catra took a step towards her, and she finally looked at her. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Catra frowned and continued toward her. Adora sighed, and it looked like she had let go of something. “No,” she said eventually. 

Catra paused where she was and waited for her to continue. 

Adora took a deep breath. “It’s… It’ll be weeks before we can even think about getting back out there and restoring magic to the rest of the universe.” 

Catra’s brow furrowed. “So? I know it seems soon, but it’s definitely enough time to unwind a little.” 

“No, I know. It’s just…” Adora looked at her hands. “I know it’s silly, but I’ve been feeling so… so useless since we won. I liked being She-Ra, I liked knowing what I was supposed to do, having a role. But, now… I feel like Etheria doesn’t need me anymore. And I know I should be using this time to relax, but I can’t. I can’t shake this feeling of having to do something more, to do something better. I just, I feel-” 

“Selfish?” Catra finished for her. Catra took Adora’s hands in her own and stared into her eyes with the most intense sincerity she had ever seen. 

“Adora…” Catra didn’t know where to start. “You are allowed to want things for yourself, you know that, right?” Her voice was so gentle and genuine that Adora had no choice but to listen. “You, of all people, are allowed to be selfish right now. You saved Etheria. You saved the universe. You…” Catra’s voice faltered. “You saved me. Even when I thought that I could never be forgiven. That I didn’t deserve to be saved. And you still came back for me, forgave me, after everything I did.” Catra’s voice broke. “So you deserve to be selfish. You don’t need to be useful to other people to deserve that.” Mara’s last words to her echoed loudly in Adora’s mind. 

Catra willed the tears forming in her eyes not to fall. Adora didn’t have the same willpower. 

Catra pulled Adora’s forehead to her own, wiping her tears away with her thumb. “Come on, now. Don’t get all sappy on me,” she said with a sad smile.

Adora allowed a teary laugh to escape her. “Look who’s talking,” she managed to say, despite the considerable lump in her throat. 

Catra hummed in response and gave her a look that was so full of love that she wanted to-

She wanted to- 

Adora kissed her, soft and slow and full of so much more than she could ever say with words. She held Catra’s hands against her cheek and felt her lean into her. The two of them slotted together perfectly. It was just as magical as the first time, and the second time, and every time they have, and every time they will. 

When they pulled away, they kept their eyes close and touched their foreheads once more. They smiled, enjoying the comfort of being in each other’s arms. 

“Thank you,” Adora said. 

“You’re such an idiot,” Catra said. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

“Awwwww!” 

The two of them whipped around to face the door to see Scorpia, standing in the doorway, her claws together in front of her, a huge smile on her face, looking like she was about to cry from joy. 

“Scorpia!” Catra shouted. She could feel heat rising in her cheeks. “How long have you been watching?”

“Oh, I saw the whole thing! It was just… so beautiful! So emotional! I need a moment.” Scorpia turned and sniffled loudly. 

“I’m guessing that means they’re ready.” Catra turned towards Adora, appreciating the bemused look on her face for a few moments. “Come on, I have something to show you.” She laced their hands together and led Adora out of the lab, grabbing a crying Scorpia on the way out. 

“Everything is ready, right, Scorpia?” Catra whispered to her, low enough that Adora couldn’t hear. 

Scorpia immediately sobered up, and assumed a proud air with a content smile on her face. “Yes. I made sure everything is perfect,” she whispered.

Catra smiled at her. “Thank you, Scorpia.” 

Scorpia stood tall and gave her what she could only assume was supposed to be a thumbs-up. 

“Where are we going?” Adora asked. “This is all highly suspicious.”

“You’ll see!” A laugh rolled through Catra’s words. 

Adora found herself not really caring where they were going, as long as they went together. 

  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Wait, I thought I wasn’t allowed in here?” Adora asked as they approached the war room. 

“You weren’t,” was the simple answer Catra gave her. 

Scorpia opened both of the tall doors and yelled, “RELEASE THE DOVES!” 

“Wha-” Adora was suddenly surrounded by a flock of white doves flying out of the war room. She held her arms in front of her face to keep from getting pelted by birds. 

As the last of them flew away, she finally opened her eyes. “What is going o-” 

“SURPRISE!!” A crowd of what seemed like everyone Adora had ever met roared as she scanned the room. It was decorated with flowers, waterfalls, and ice sculptures all around. The table had been covered in delicious looking food and a- 

“ME-CAKE!” Adora yelled and pointed as she noticed it, all coherent thoughts leaving her head. Bow stood proudly and winked at Catra, the Adora-cake clearly being his idea. Catra would have facepalmed, but Adora looked so happy, she couldn’t find it in herself to be cynical. 

As her all friends surrounded her, Adora started getting misty-eyed again. 

“You guys did all this for me?” 

“We noticed you were feeling down and figured you deserved something fun, and we remembered you’d never had a surprise party before!” Glimmer hugged Adora tightly, and Adora leaned her head on top of hers. 

“It was Glimmer’s idea, but Scorpia was the master planner. Turns out, she’s great at planning parties!” Bow said, joining their group hug. 

Everyone looked to Scorpia, who blushed and scratched her neck. “Ah, it wasn’t that big of a deal, I just organized everything and sent out really short-notice invitations and made the cake and- Whoa!” 

She was tackled to the ground in a mass group-hug. Everyone was laughing and grinning, Catra almost couldn’t handle the corny-ness of it all. 

Until she saw the ice sculpture in the center back wall. 

Then she really couldn't handle it. 

“Frosta!” She howled as she felt her whole face get hot. 

It was a life-size sculpture of Adora and Catra… kissing. 

“What?” Frosta complained. “It literally saved the universe!”

“It’s embarrassing!” Catra retorted, trying to keep the small amount of dignity she had left. 

“Aw, what?” Adora had slipped up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I embarrass you?” Her voice was low and laced with teasing. 

“No! Of course not!” Catra turned and held Adora’s face in her hands. When she saw her grinning, she scoffed. “Of course you were teasing,” she mumbled, but she smiled upon seeing Adora laugh. 

“You’re such an idiot.” Catra said, before joining her in her laughter. 

And at this moment, Adora realized something. 

  
She was happy. 

And that was all she ever wanted. 


End file.
